Man Forces His Way Into Woman’s Valley Village Apartment, Refuses To Come Out For Hours

VALLEY VILLAGE (CBSLA) — A man who police say forced his way into a woman’s Valley Village apartment was arrested Monday after refusing to come out for several hours.

The woman told police she was awoken just after 4 a.m. to a man banging on the door of her apartment in the 12300 block of West Riverside Drive. When she looked outside, she saw he was armed with some type of tool.

When he managed to get inside the apartment, she locked herself in a bedroom. As officers distracted the suspect at the front door, firefighters put a ladder up to the bedroom’s window and were able to get the woman to safety.

The 24-year-old man, who may be suffering from mental health issues, was taken into custody at about 8:30 a.m. His name was not released.

An LAPD lieutenant said the man initially tried to break into the apartment upstairs, and when he realized his mistake, came downstairs to break into the apartment where he is holed up now. The man and the woman apparently had a romantic relationship at some point, and he lived there in the past.